a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

Game 13 vs. LAC: Jeremy is freed, allowed to dunk

I was sure we were going to win this one. Then I found out Chris Paul wasn’t playing. ;) I’m conditioned to believe that any game Chris Paul plays in, we win. As he was out tonight, suddenly the game was up for grabs.

By the end of the night, Jeremy Evans was trending *worldwide* on Twitter:

Paul Millsap got off to a hot start…or rather his hot streak continued from the last game. Utah led by 12 after 1.

Smart CJ came to play in the second quarter…slashing to the tin, as @Texas would say. Things then got completely stagnant, but the Jazz still led by 11 at the half. It should also be mentioned that Al had all four of his assists in the first half.

The stagnation continued into the third, with the Jazz starting 1-7 from the floor. Then Millsap got it going again, and the Jazz were suddenly leading by 20 at the end of 3.

The fourth? Jeremy Time. With Earl and Jeremy’s lob showcase going on, the Jazz lead grew to 30 and Jamaal Tinsley was able to get into the game for the last 6+ minutes. He’s caught my eye all season with how encouraging he is as a presence on the bench (much like Ronnie Price was), and he was really clicking with the young guys when he finally got on the floor. Play of the game (IMO) goes to him and Jeremy:

Another view:

(Thanks to memoismoney for uploading the video…Incredibly, this play did not make the game recap.)

I don’t want to underscore what Millsap and CJ did because there wouldn’t have been The Jeremy Show in the 4th without their first half performance, but how long has it been since we’ve seen this? Blowout, fun, feeling like we’re on top of the world, smiling Jazz players jumping up and down in excitement in front of the bench?

The Jazz are, right now, second in the West. That’s completely meaningless at this point, of course, but it’s still a nice feeling.

Quotage** Jeremy Evans: [Have you ever leaped over a Kia?] No, I never tried but I did jump over my Camaro. [You jumped over your Camaro?] Yeah, the front end. I didn’t think I could make it but I tried it watching Blake…all the way over, on the other side.** Earl Watson: [Al said you’re looking for the alley-oop at all times.] Yeah, but not when Al’s in the game. (laughs) (1)** CJ Miles: Devin can throw some [alley-oop passes]. He hasn’t had a chance because Al can’t jump. (1)** Al Jefferson: Everybody understand their role. Everybody like each other. Everybody get along. Coach been talking defense since the end of last season. Even through the lockout I could wake up in the middle of the night hearing him in my head saying “Defense. Get back on defense.” That’s what we doing right now. That’s the reason why we having a lil success, but we can’t relax. (2)** Jeremy Evans: [Do you guys practice lobs?] [Earl] just throws it, and I go get it. [Do you and Earl know when it’s coming?] Yeah. He’s just looking at me, and the guy overplays, and it’s over. (2)** Raja Bell: We understand that there was no Chris Paul, but…we were missing Josh and Derrick. (2)

Unintentional Dirty Quote Machines of the Night** Boler: Millsap is really eating up Blake Griffin. (H/T @vizzle07)** Harpring on Jordan: He almost had both hands on that, plus his head. He can really get up.** B/H: Miles with the penetration. (H/T @theutahjazzblog)** Harpring on CJ: He didn’t mean to do it but it doesn’t matter. It goes in.** Boler: Inside, Raja. Stop, pop.** Harpring on Al: What I like is him using a head fake. He’s not going straight up.** Boler on Fortson: Great move inside, this guy is quick.